Mr. Dean was born in 1957 in Fort Payne, Alabama. Mr. Dean was inspired to draw by his father, who was a self taught artist. In 1999, Mr. Dean adopted a kitten from a local shelter. A skinny black kitten won out and found a new home with Mr. Dean and his family. He named the cat Pete. Like most young kittens Pete spent much time relaxing on Mr. Dean's lap when he first arrived home. It was at this time that Mr. Dean began to sketch and paint pictures of Pete. Although Pete was black, when Mr. Dean started painting Pete doing “cat” things such as sitting in the laundry basket, hanging on the screen door and sleeping, he decided that Pete should be blue. And Pete the blue cat was "born"! Mr. Dean lives in Savannah, Georgia with his wife, Kimberly. If you would like to learn more about Mr. Dean's life please click here.
In 2010 Harper Collins published the first book about Pete called "Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes". This children's book was written by Eric Litwin and illustrated by Mr. Dean. This story tells about the adventures of Pete and how he gets his white shoes dirty by stepping into various substances, but according to the book "Pete never loses his cool." This book became an instant hit, making the New York Times Bestseller List. Since then there have been several other Pete the Cat books published including his recent publication titled, "Pete the Cat and the New Guy" Click here to view all of the books.
Mr. Dean was born in 1957 in Fort Payne, Alabama. Mr. Dean was inspired to draw by his father, who was a self taught artist. In 1999, Mr. Dean adopted a kitten from a local shelter. A skinny black kitten won out and found a new home with Mr. Dean and his family. He named the cat Pete. Like most young kittens Pete spent much time relaxing on Mr. Dean's lap when he first arrived home. It was at this time that Mr. Dean began to sketch and paint pictures of Pete. Although Pete was black, when Mr. Dean started painting Pete doing “cat” things such as sitting in the laundry basket, hanging on the screen door and sleeping, he decided that Pete should be blue. And Pete the blue cat was "born"! Mr. Dean lives in Savannah, Georgia with his wife, Kimberly.
If you would like to learn more about Mr. Dean's life please click here.
Since then there have been several other Pete the Cat books published including his recent publication titled, "Pete the Cat and the New Guy" Click here to view all of the books.